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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cell — a phone
  3. club — a group
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. vault — a safe
  8. club — for dancing
  9. kid — child
  10. row — to paddle
  11. race — a contest
  12. row — a line
  13. cell — in biology
  14. kid — to tease
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. club — for golf
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. vault — in gymnastics

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com